Well guys, here we are. The one game every Bruins fan has been anticipating and dreading: the first game against the Hawks since Game 6 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals.

If I hear one person say this is the Cup revenge game, I hope you accidentally get in the way of flying milk crate. As important, overwhelming and devastating that game was, it has nothing to do with this game. The team has moved past the loss and today is just about getting those two points and continuing to rebuild our momentum. Plain and simple.

But getting down to business, the recuperating Bruins (30-15-2) go head to head with the division leading Blackhawks for the first time this season in what could be a preview of this year's playoffs. The Bruins go into this game hoping to extend their win streak to two and to continue to build up momentum and consistency.

We aren't expecting any roster changes against the Blackhawks from what we saw against the Stars.

Bruins Projected Line Up

Team Stats

Team: The Blackhawks are currently first in the Central Division and second in the league with 73 points. They're coming into this game after a 4-2 win against the Ducks, the only team ahead of them in the league. The Hawks have a +44 goal differential with an average of 2.7 GA/game and 4.11 GF/game, which is the highest GF average in the league. They are 17-3-7 at home this season. These stats may be daunting, but the team has been as inconsistent since the new year started as the Bruins have been.

Players: It's obvious to anyone that the Blackhawks are an offensive juggernaut. 21 of their 28 players have positive ratings ranging from Bollig's +1 to Hossa's insane +25. Their other 7 players range from even to BIckell's -6. Patrick Kane leads the team with 56 points off 23 goals and 33 assists while Patrick Sharp leads the team with 25 goals.

Goalie: We can expect to see Crawford in goal against the Bruins. Crawford has played in 33 games this season with a 18-7-7 record. He has a .910 SV% and a 2.47 GAA. We all know that Crawford struggles blocking shots with his gloved side.

Of Note: Patrick Kane is fourth in the league with 56 points while Marian Hossa is second in the league with a +25. Hossa also has four goals and two assists in the four game point streak he's on.

Team: The Bruins have been relatively inconsistent since the New Year started but we have still managed to maintain first place in the Atlantic Division with 62 points. We're coming into this game after a 4-2 win against the Stars. We have a +32 goal differential with an average of 2.2 GA/game and 2.9 GF/game. We're 12-10-0 away this season. Like I said these stats may be a little scary compared to the ones the Blackhawks have but like I said, they've been just as inconsistent. Not to mention the Blackhawks have 3 games on us.

Players: 19 of our guys have positive ratings on the ice ranging from Miller's +2 to Bergeron's +19. The rest go from even to Caron's -5. Aka these stats really haven't changed much over the last few games, which is both good and bad. Krejci still leads the team with 38 points off 10 goals and 28 assists. Reilly Smith still leads the team with 15 goals.

Goalie: Tuukka Rask will be in net after getting a break for the game against the Stars. Rask has 37 games under his belt with a 22-12-2 record. He has a 2.11 GAA and a .928 SV%.

Of Note: Rask has allowed two or fewer goals in 24 of his 37 starts and is fourth in the NHL in save percentage and fourth in wins. Bergeron has a 60.3% on the faceoff, putting him second in the league. He also has 623 faceoff wins, which puts him first in the league.

Bruins Keys to Winning

1. The Hawks, as I mentioned, are absurdly talented on offense. Chicago is second in the league with 33.4 shots for per game. The majority of these shots are coming from Chicago's first line, which consists of Sharp (4SF/G)-Toews(3SF/G)-Hossa(3SF/G). Of course Kane is also up there with 3.5SF/G. Consequently, these four are leading their team in goals and points. As such, the Bruins need to shut these guys' passing and shooting lanes down early on and provide plenty of net front support for Rask.

2. We need to create a net front presence early on and we need to maintain it. The Bruins average 30.8 shots for per game, which is pretty good. But against a team like the Blackhawks, we're not going to get these shots off playing from the boards. We need to get up close and personal with Crawford. This means we're going to have to split their defense, set up those successful cyclical plays out front that we so often see score goals and maintain good offensive pressure and zone time. This also means we need to be smart about our passing game.

3. No useless penalties. Plain and simple. Chicago is 22.7% on the powerplay, putting them fourth in the league. The Bruins, since the loss of Seidenberg, has seen a rather unfortunate slip on our penalty kill, which is now 12th in the league at 82.3%. We've allowed 27 power play goals in 47 games and this number is liable to go up if we don't watch our penalties this game.